Presentation of the AMX-30B2 BRENNUS

Presentation of the AMX-30B2 BRENNUS

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Table of contents

Background............................................................................................................................................ 4 Production .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Different variants produced ................................................................................................................. 6 Export ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Technical specifications of the AMX-30 B2 ...................................................................................... 8 Specificities of the AMX-30 B2 BRENNUS..................................................................................... 12 BRENNUS add-on reactive armour package for heavy armoured vehicles .......................... 14 RENAULT/MACK E9 - V8 diesel Engine .................................................................................... 15 Availability ............................................................................................................................................ 16

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Background

In 1956 the West European defense workgroup FINABEL drafted a set of specifications for a new European medium battle tank to replace the American M47 tank. After some disagreements concerning the NATO standardization, the German government began to oppose the common tank project and decided to procure a purely national tank for the trials. In response the French government decided likewise. Comparative trials were held at different places between five French and five German prototypes in 1963, under a multinational committee. The French type had received a national designation (AMX-30). The trials indicated that the German type, also having its national designation (LEOPARD), had a better mobility and acceleration. After some reconciliation attempts the program was finally canceled and the French and German governments definitely decided to adopt their two separate tanks.

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Production

The AMX-30 tanks were developed and produced by the Ateliers de Construction d'Issy-lesMoulineaux and then by the Ateliers de Construction de Roanne. The first production versions of the tank, named AMX-30B to distinguish them from the AMX-30A prototypes, were completed in June 1966, manufactured with a welded and cast hull and a fully cast turret. Originally, 300 vehicles were ordered by the French Army, and by 1971 the order had been increased to 900 units. In 1985 the number of AMX- 30 had risen to 1.173 units. By the end of production, France had accepted 1.355 AMX-30 into service, including 166 brand-new AMX-30B2. Another 493 tanks were refitted and modernized to AMX-30B2 standards. The last 35 new battle tanks were ordered by Cyprus in 1989 and the last new variant vehicles, a batch of twenty GCT, were ordered by France in 1994. Total production of the AMX-30 and variants totaled 3.571 units. In the late 1990s, the French Army began to accept the new Leclerc main battle tank to replace the AMX-30.

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Different variants produced

The AMX-30 has a number of different variants including a number of other armored vehicles based on the same chassis. Some of them are described hereunder: -

AMX-30D : recovery vehicle AMX-30 AuF1 GCT : self-propelled artillery 155 mm howitzer AMX-30 EBG : engineering vehicle AMX-30 Roland : surface-to-air missile launcher AMX-30 Pluton : tactical nuclear missile launcher AMX-30E : manufactured under license in Spain AMX-30 S : designed for desert environment AMX-30 B2 : improvement of the firing power, the mobility and the protection AMX-30 BRENNUS : improved model with reactive armoring

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Export

The AMX-30 tank was sold to the different countries listed here under and also manufactured under license by some of these countries. -

Argentina Bosnia Chile Croatia Cyprus Greece France Iraq Qatar Saudi Arabia Spain Tunisia United Arab Emirates Venezuela

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Technical specifications of the AMX-30 B2

The AMX-30 B2, announced in June 1979, is essentially an AMX-30 with an integrated fire control system based on a laser rangefinder and an LLLTV system, a new transmission and other improvements (suspension, NBC system, gun stabilization,…). The COTAC FCS, officially designated the APX M581, has been designed by the AMX-APX in collaboration with the Ateliers de Construction de Tarbes. Its main components are the gunner’s APX M544 telescopic (x10 magnification) sight which is combined with an APX M579 electronic control system and an APX M421 optical module containing a computercontrolled graticule. The laser rangefinder is the APX M550 and is made by CILAS under the designation TCV80. It has a maximum range of 10.000 m and is accurate to ± 5 m. The SOPELEM telescopic sight has a magnification of x10 and is directly coupled to the main armament. In addition to the M581 rangefinder telescope the gunner has a rotatable M282 periscope, a fixed M223 periscope and a tv monitor associated with an LLLTV monitor. The COTAC FCS also incorporates an accelerometer-type trunnion tilt sensor and a control panel. The tank commander manually inserts information via the control panel concerning the type of ammunition being fired, drift and jump angles, cross wind velocity, altitude and ambient temperature. Apart from the ammunition details, most of this information has to be inserted only once a day. To determine lead angles for the engagement of moving targets, a two-axis gyroscope is mounted on the sight to measure target tracking rates in both azimuth and elevation. Other parameters are automatically acquired by the gunner’s rangefinder telescope including target distance, its displacement speed in elevation and azimuth and turret slant. These parameters are processed by a lead computer built into the telescope which transmits the elevation and azimuth corrections to the gunner’s day sight by means of an optical compensator and the graticule of the LLLTV camera for engaging targets at night. In addition to the 10 M268 periscopes in his cupola the commander also has an M496 telescope with a x8 magnification for firing the 105mm gun, for the secondary armament (20mm cannon and 7,62mm machine gun) and aiming assembly comprising an M591-02 prism head and an OB 49 monocular telescope.

Mounted externally on the right side of the turret is the CASTOR (Thales) thermal camera with both the tank commander and gunner being provided with a tv monitor screen. The screens display an aiming mark which enables the commander or gunner to engage targets at ranges of up to 4.000 m.

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The loader has a rotatable M282 periscope and two fixed M223 periscopes with the driver having a central M223 periscope (or an OB 31A image intensification periscope) and two fixed M223 periscopes. To allow the AMX-30 B2 to fire the newer APFSDS ammunition a new gunner’s sight graticule is fitted to match the ballistics of the rounds while the turret and ammunition racks have been modified to accept the different shaped APFSDS round. Mounted on the left side of the turret, coaxial with the main armament, is a SOPELEM PH-8B searchlight, which has a maximum range of 2,000 m when used in the white light mode and a range of 1,000 m in the infrared mode.

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The engine of the AMX-30 B2 has been developed from that of the AMX-30 and develops 700 hp @ 2.600 rpm. The HS-110-2 is fitted with new and more powerful turbo-compressors which provide a 45 hp increase as well as improving the operational life of the engine and its torque characteristics. A new hydrostatically-controlled engine system incorporates oil heat exchangers cooled by air instead of engine coolant. The air filters have removable covers to facilitate field maintenance. The SESM ENC-200 is a gearbox of the lock-up torque converter type with five forward and reverse speeds and hydrostatic steering controlled by a conventional steering wheel instead of sticks. This system allows on-the-spot turning and gear changing in bends. The suspension is improved by adopting new torsion bars and shocks which increased the vertical deflection range of the road wheels, thereby improving the tank’s cross-country mobility. The AMX-30 B2 is also fitted with a new collective pressurization system with two circuits, one with complete filtration for improved NBC protection. French Army AMX-30 B2s have the OB 49 roof-mounted sight with two day and one night channels. This can be replaced by the M427 with day and image intensification night channels and a laser rangefinder or a roof-mounted SFIM M527 gyro-stabilized sight also fitted to AMX-32 and AMX-40. The gunner on French Army AMX-30 B2s has an M581 rangefinder telescope but this can be replaced by an OB 47. The driver’s infra-red periscope can be replaced by an OB 31 or CN2-516 image intensification periscope. Other options include new 125 Ah batteries with a longer life and needing less maintenance, new filters, DUK DUR 440 radiation counter, air-conditionning system and three different land navigation systems developed by Crouzet. French Army AMX-30 B2s have a thicker gun shield. In place of the standard bank of two electrically-operated smoke dischargers either side of the turret, the GIAT/Lacroix GALIX AFV protection system can be fitted. This can fire a wide range of different types of grenade to meet various battlefield threats. An exhaust smoke generator system can also be fitted.

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Designation Type Crew Lenght, overall Width, overall Combat weight Radio, external

Main Armament Gun traverse Traverse rate Gun stabilization Night vision Secondary armament

Engine Power Power/weight ratio Speed, on road Fuel capacity Range, on road Fuel consumption Turning radius Ground clearance

Smoke laying

Armor details

GENERAL INFORMATION AMX-30 B2 MBT 4 Production period 9,5 m Lenght, hull 3,1 m Height, overall 37.000 kg Unloaded weight n/a Communication, cew FIRE POWER 105mm GIAT L/56 CNAmmunition carried 105-Mle F1 rifled gun 360° Elevation/Depression 30°/s Elevation rate Yes Rangefinder Yes - passive Auto-loader 20mm GIAT M693 coaxial gun + 7,62mm Ammunition carried GIAT NF1 MGun MOBILITY CHARACTERISTICS HS110 12-cylinder water-cooled Transmission multifuel 700 hp@ 2600 rpm Suspension 18,9 hp/T Track width 65 km/h Track ground contact 970 l Ground pressure 450 km Gradient 215 l/100 km Vertical obstacle n/a Trench crossing 0,44 m Fording SURVIVABILITY FEATURES 2x2 smoke grenade NBC protection (80 mm) dischargers

1981-1993 6,6 m 2,9 m 35.300 kg n/a 47x105mm (APFSDS-T, HEAT-T,HE, smoke, illuminating) +40° / -8° 5,5°/s laser no 1050x20mm (HEI,AP) 2050x7,62mm

SESM ENC-200 5 F+R torsion bars 0,57 m 0,412 m 0,9 kg/cm² 60% 0,9 m 2,9 m 1,3 m / 4m prepared

yes

Hull armor thickness : 79 mm (front), 30-57 mm (sides), 30 mm (rear), 20 mm (top, floor). Turret armor thickness : 81 mm (front), 42 mm (sides), 50 mm (rear), 20 mm (roof).

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Specificities of the AMX-30 B2 BRENNUS

Before the commissioning of the Leclerc tank and because of some budgetary restrictions, the AMX-30 B2 is once again upgraded in the nineties. The most visible upgrade was a reactive armor package named BRENNUS. This add-on armoring is composed by 112 GIAT BS G2 explosive reactive boxes installed on the front of the hull and on the front and the sides of the turret. The elements are made of very high hardness steel reinforced with sandwich plates of Kevlar. Each box weights 10 kg including 400 g of pyrotechnic material. The reactive armor offer a protection equivalent to 400 mm of steel at 60 ° (with a weight nine times lighter tha n its steel equivalent) developed in order to deflect the attacks from anti-tank rockets and missiles fitted with a High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) warhead, new APFSDS rounds and medium caliber weapons. A new diesel engine Renault/MACK E9 (manufactured in the USA and the sent to the RVI facility in Limoges to be militarized) developing 750 hp @ 2.400 rpm replaces the HS110 to compensate the additional weight of the add-on armoring. The military E9 features double stage turbo-charging on either side, a Bosch direct injection system, a dry sump, a power take-off for driving high-power auxiliaries and the ability to start at very low temperatures. It is combined to the semi-automatic SESM ENC-200 gearbox and gives a power/weight ratio higher than 20 % of the original configuration. The MACK E9 is expected to be more reliable and offer lower life cycle costs. The suspension and all the bearings were also reinforced. Connector tracks (DIEHL) which are quieter and offer less resistance than conventional tracks were selected and the rear sprocket was modified. The combat weight of the vehicle is increased by 1.200 kg meaning 38.200 kg.

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Designation Type Crew Lenght, overall Width, overall Combat weight Radio, external

Main Armament Gun traverse Traverse rate Gun stabilization Night vision Secondary armament

GENERAL INFORMATION AMX-30 B2 BRENNUS MBT 4 Production period 9,5 m Lenght, hull 3,1 m Height, overall 38.200 kg Unloaded weight n/a Communication, cew FIRE POWER 105mm GIAT L/56 CNAmmunition carried 105-Mle F1 rifled gun 360° Elevation/Depression 30°/s Elevation rate Yes Rangefinder Yes Auto-loader 20mm GIAT M693 coaxial gun + 7,62mm Ammunition carried GIAT NF1 MGun MOBILITY CHARACTERISTICS

Engine

MACK E9 – V8 diesel

Power Power/weight ratio Speed, on road Fuel capacity Range, on road Fuel consumption Turning radius Ground clearance

750 hp@ 2400 rpm Suspension 19,6 hp/T Track width 65 km/h Track ground contact 970 l Ground pressure 485 km Gradient 200 l/100 km Vertical obstacle n/a Trench crossing 0,44 m Fording SURVIVABILITY FEATURES 2x6 smoke grenade NBC protection dischargers

Smoke laying

Armor details

Transmission

1995-200 6,6 m 2,9 m 36.500 kg n/a 47x105mm (APFSDS-T, HEAT-T,HE, smoke, illuminating) +40° / -8° 5,5°/s laser no 1050x20mm (HEI,AP) 2050x7,62mm

SESM ENC-200 5 F+R torsion bars 0,57 m 0,412 m 0,9 kg/cm² 60% 0,9 m 2,9 m 1,3 m / 4m prepared

yes

Hull armor thickness : 79 mm (front), 30-57 mm (sides), 30 mm (rear), 20 mm (top, floor). Turret armor thickness : 81 mm (front), 42 mm (sides), 50 mm (rear), 20 mm (roof). Add-on armoring kit composed of 112 GIAT BS G2 explosive reactive boxes installed on the front of the hull and on the front and the sides of the turret.

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BRENNUS add-on reactive armour package for heavy armoured vehicles

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RENAULT/MACK E9 - V8 diesel Engine

Manufacturer : Mack / Renault Vehicules Industriels Designation : E9 Type : V8 diesel Volume : 16,4 liter Power : 750 hp @ 2.400 rpm Weight : 1.250 kg

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Availability

They are in very good condition, operational after the required maintenance. Today’s availability is up to 45 units.

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